Cubs' closer conundrum a puzzle for Sveum

April 17, 2013|By Paul Sullivan, Tribune reporter

Three prominent former Chicago Cubs closers worked out on the field Tuesday night during batting practice at Wrigley Field.

Guest instructor Kerry Wood, who saved 34 games during their last division-winning season in 2008; newly signed Kevin Gregg, who replaced Wood after ’08 and saved 23 games in 2009 before losing the job in August; and Carlos Marmol, who wrested the job from Gregg under Lou Piniella and has frazzled the nerves of Piniella, Mike Quade and Dale Sveum -- not to mention Cubs fans -- ever since.

The closers’ role always has been a hotly debated subject at Wrigley, including Ryan Dempster’s stormy tenure from 2005-’07. But seldom has it been as disastrous as this April, where Sveum has already gone 0-for-3 in closers in only 13 games.

Sveum said Tuesday he would continue to mix-and-match with his bullpen at the end of games, where crash-and-burn has been the recurring theme. Marmol, Kyuji Fujikawa and Shawn Camp-- a part of a closer-by-committee that no longer includes left-hander James Russell -- have combined for a stunning 22.26 ERA in the seven appearances where they were either the designated closer or part of the closing mix.

In those games, the three relievers have combined for 5 2/3 innings, allowing 14 earned runs on 17 hits, with six walks and two strikeouts. They’ve also served up four home runs, including two game-tying homers (Marmol to B.J. Upton and Camp to Hunter Pence) and one walk-off homer (Marmol to Justin Upton).

What Sveum can do to solve the closer conundrum is a mystery. No matter who he puts in, calamity has ensued.

Marmol, whom the Cubs agreed to trade to the Angels last November before pulling the deal off the table, held the role from April 1-6, despite getting yanked on opening day in Pittsburgh. Sveum said after that scary outing he hadn’t lost confidence in Marmol.

“Yeah, he’s still the closer,” he said. “I’m not making any changes or anything like that.”

Three days later, Marmol nearly blew a three-run, ninth-inning lead in Pittsburgh, then served up a pair of ninth-inning, center-field home runs to the Upton brothers on April 6 to blow a one-run lead in Atlanta.

On April 7, Sveum announced Fujikawa was the new closer, saying he didn’t want to go with a closer-by-committee.

“I don’t want to be having this conversation 10 days from now again, that’s for sure,” he said.

This time it took only six days for Sveum to have the “conversation.” Fujikawa recorded a one-inning save for Marmol in his first opportunity, but then blew a 2-0 lead for Carlos Villanueva in the ninth inning Friday against San Francisco.

On Saturday, Fujikawa was placed on the disabled list with a strained right forearm, an issue the Cubs said he’s had since spring training.

On Sunday, the Cubs announced they’d signed Gregg to a minor league contract, while Sveum said he would go with the closer-by-committee concept he’d previously rejected in Atlanta, with Camp and Russell and his two main guys.

In his first save opportunity Sunday, Camp veered from Sveum’s game plan, shaking off catcher Dioner Navarro while giving up a two-out, two-strike, game-tying home run to Pence. He then proceeded to give up the go-ahead run in the 10th on a balk.

After an off-day in which no closers’ egos were bruised, the Cubs added Gregg to the major league roster Tuesday without a single minor league game, dumping left-hander Hisanori Takahashi and demoting Rafael Dolis to Triple-A Iowa.

Gregg immediately threw his hat into the closer contest.

“For sure,” he said. “It’s definitely what I’ve done in the past. Talking to (Cubs’ management), it was just a matter of bringing in some guys with experience. I have experience at the back end and I’d be able to help out with that.”

Gregg hasn’t pitched in a game since being released by the Dodgers at the end of spring training. He said he was working out at home, and threw in Mesa, Ariz. over the weekend.

“Now I’m here,” he said.

The Cubs didn’t need a closer Tuesday, trailing 1-0 in the eighth against Texas. But with Travis Wood tiring, Sveum called on his closer-by-committee guy, Camp, to limit the damage.

No such luck.

Camp’s errant pickoff throw allowed one run to score, and he promptly served up a two-run home run to Adrian Beltre into a cold, biting wind to give the Rangers a comfortable 4-0 lead. A late rally by the Cubs in the ninth fell short. Camp’s outing essentially gave the game away.

“The bad pickoff and obviously another hanging slider (to Beltre),” Sveum said of Camp’s performance. “Beltre crushed it into obviously a pretty stiff wind blowing in. He got every ounce of that ball. Obviously we gave up another run on a pick-off, not a balk, but he threw a ball away with a guy at third base. The guy didn’t even have a lead, so ...”